Thursday, December 21, 2006

On the January edition of “Middle Tennessee Record” Tom Tozer and Ashley Ball pick their favorite stories from 2006. Ten stories will be reviewed and updated. The discovery of the exact location of Alvin York’s heroic action in World War I is first on the list, followed by an update of our story about helmet liners for Marines in Iraq. Fred Belton’s visit to a volcano in Tanzania and Clare Bratten’s visit to Kurdistan round out segment one. In the second segment the program takes a close up view of the Naked Sky Observatory, the replica of Ben Franklin’s printing press and an underwater treadmill. In the final segment, Bob Womack talks about a famous horse that’s buried near the Tennessee Miller Coliseum. The program remembers two MTSU giants who passed away in 2006, and it concludes on a lighter note with a look at a dog gone good foot race. Music by alumna Annie Sellick concludes the January retrospective.

“Middle Tennessee Record” airs several times each month. Visit http://www.mtsu.edu/~proffice/MTR.html for times and stations. The program is archived on that same website. Users will need to install RealPlayer to view streaming video of archived programs. A link to that free software is also posted on that web page.

(MURFREESBORO) — (MURFREESBORO) — MTSU will be closed from Monday, Dec. 25 (Christmas Day) until 8 a.m. Jan. 2, 2007, for the holiday break, university officials announced. All offices will be closed Dec. 25-Jan. 1. MTSU undergraduate, graduate and transfer students are in the midst of a one-month semester break. Spring semester classes will begin on Tuesday, Jan. 16.

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Editor’s note: For emergencies, media should contact the MTSU Police (Office of Public Safety) by calling 615-898-2424. If necessary, MTSU Police can relay messages to MTSU News and Public Affairs personnel.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

County-by-County Listing of Current Dean’s List Students Available Online

(MURFREESBORO)—Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) has released the names and hometowns of those students who appear on the Dean’s List for the fall 2006 semester.To qualify for this distinction, an undergraduate student must maintain a current semester grade-point average of 3.5 or above and earn at least 12 semester hours.

 HOW TO OBTAIN YOUR COUNTY’S STUDENT LIST: To obtain a list for editorial use of those students from your county who are on the current Dean’s List, please access this information on the News and Public Affairs (NPA) Web site at http://www.mtsunews.com/ and click on the “MTSU Dean’s List” link on the upper, left-hand side of the page.Next, click on the “Fall” link, which will include an alphabetical, county-by-county listing of those MTSU students who are on the 2006 fall semester Dean’s List. ***Please note that this page also contains directions on how to download and save your county’s list for editorial use in your publication.

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ATTENTION, MEDIA: If you encounter any problems downloading and saving your county’s dean’s list, please contact the Office of News and Public Affairs at MTSU at 615-898-2919 for assistance.

MURFREESBORO—MTSU’s Education Resource Channel, Channel 9 in Rutherford County, will be running only the bulletin board for four weeks, beginning at noon on Monday, Dec. 18, and ending at noon on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2007. The station will use this break to complete the channel’s installation and testing of new equipment and to get the new Web site up and running, Gail Fedak, manager of MTSU’s Instructional Media Resources Library, said. “Once ERC@MTSU returns to regular programming, we look forward to bringing a broader range of programs to the community from current sources as well as some new sources,” Fedak commented. “We welcome comments, questions, any feedback at all, and we encourage people to tune in to Channel 9 for reliable information about events as well as interesting and informative programs.” E-mail messages may be sent to ercmt@mtsu.edu.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

(MURFREESBORO)—Beginning Dec. 15, Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) will release the names and hometowns of those students who will graduate during the fall 2006 commencement ceremony held Saturday, Dec. 16, in Murphy Center on the MTSU campus.About 1,570 degree candidates—a record number of candidates for a December graduation event—graduated during the 95th fall commencement. Of the term’s graduating class, 1,409 are undergraduates and 161 graduate students, including 140 master’s candidates, nine education specialist (Ed.S.) degree candidates and three Ph.D. candidates.The dual-commencement event featured Congressman Bart Gordon, who has served as the representative in the 6th District of middle Tennessee since first winning election in 1984, as the guest speaker for the 9 a.m. ceremony.U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings was the featured speaker for the 2 p.m. commencement ceremony. A native of Michigan and longtime resident of Houston, Texas, where she graduated from the University of Houston with a political science degree, Spellings is the country’s eighth education secretary, receiving confirmation of office from the U.S. Senate on Jan. 20, 2005.Following the ceremonies’ respective guest speakers, degree candidates from the College of Graduate Studies, Jennings A. Jones College of Business, and College of Education and Behavioral Science were conferred with their degrees in the morning ceremony, while degree candidates in the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, College of Liberal Arts, College of Mass Communication, and the College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning, were conferred during the afternoon event.

 HOW TO OBTAIN YOUR COUNTY’S STUDENT LIST: To obtain a list for editorial use of those students from your county who graduated during MTSU’s fall 2006 commencement, please access this information on the News and Public Affairs (NPA) Web site at www.mtsunews.com and click on the “MTSU Graduation Lists” link on the upper, left-hand side of the page.Next, click on the “Fall” link, which will include an alphabetical, county-by-county listing of those MTSU students who graduate on Dec. 16.***Please note that this Web page also contains directions on how to download and save your county’s list for editorial use in your publication.

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ATTENTION, MEDIA: If you encounter any problems downloading and saving your county’s dean’s list, please contact the Office of News and Public Affairs at MTSU at 615-898-2919 for assistance.

(MOUNT PLEASANT, MICH)—The Motor City Bowl match-up of the Central Michigan University Chippewas versus the Middle Tennessee State University Blue Raiders may not be significant to some people, but the Campbell family is preparing for a showdown.Kevin and Liz Campbell are both CMU graduates—Kevin in 1974 and 1976, and Liz in 1977—while son Kelly, 27, is a 2003 graduate of MTSU. Kevin, a senior information specialist for Dow Corning, also teaches in CMU's School of Broadcast and Cinematic Arts.But the coincidence does not end there. All three football fans have deep connections to their respective teams.During his college days at CMU, Kevin, whose father, George, was a locker room attendant at CMU's Kelly/Shorts Stadium, helped film football games for the Chippewas and often was a sound engineer for home games. He even stood Liz up for what was supposed to be their first date because he had to shoot a game at Ball State University (no, she hasn't forgotten).Similarly, Kelly spent four years on the crew of MTSU's football coaches' show, "which included videotaping home games, assisting in getting feeds from remote trucks, shooting and editing packages, studio components, and just about everything else," he said. Kelly was on the staff of MTSU’s Department of Audio-Visual Services, both while as a student and as a graduate.Given the Campbells' connections to the Motor City Bowl teams, they all knew what their holiday plans would be once MTSU received its bid to face CMU in the game."I just about fell off the couch when the announcement was made that CMU would be playing against MTSU," said Liz. "Before Kelly's years there, I hadn't even heard of MTSU. Kelly's first year at MTSU was the university’s first year as a Division I school [in football], and I remember watching them struggle to be competitive at the Division I level while growing their football program."Kelly, who now works for Kentucky Educational Television and also serves on the video crew for the University of Kentucky's football team, expects to return to his home state with his wife, Michelle, for the holidays, and the entire family—including Kelly’s younger brother Brian, 24, and his girlfriend—plans to be on hand at Detroit's Ford Field when the teams face off Tuesday, Dec. 26."It's pretty exciting, really,” Kelly said. “MTSU football has really fought hard over the past couple of years with the move to Division I-A. It takes a lot of talent and hard work to get a bowl bid, and both of those have happened for MTSU this year."Kelly and his parents may disagree about who will win the game, but don't expect any bets or brawls in this rivalry-torn family."So far no bets between the CMU alums and the MTSU alum," Liz said. "I'm just looking forward to sharing the day and the experience with Kevin and the boys."Kevin agreed, but he also made a bold prediction regarding the game's outcome."No bets going among us because CMU will win, hands down," he said. "A little family rivalry will be fun."As for where the Campbells will sit at Ford Field … well, Kelly might be a bit uncomfortable with that arrangement."I've got a pretty good feeling that I'll be the only one wearing blue and white in a sea of maroon and gold, since my parents bought the tickets," Kelly commented.

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NOTE: A special thanks to Lindsay Allen, CMU Media Relations for this story.

(MURFREESBORO)—The McGaugh Farm in Obion County recently was designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reports Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation (CHP), which is located on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). Just north of Union City is the McGaugh Farm, which was founded in 1887 by Robert McGaugh. Married to Mary Hale, the couple had five children, though two of their daughters died at the age of 17 from typhoid fever. In 1906, the McGaughs built a farmhouse on the 92.5 acres. In 1918, the founder’s son, Joseph A. McGaugh, acquired the land. Along with wife Ellen Alexander, the couple had one son, Joseph W. McGaugh, who became the third generation to own the farm. Joseph W. wed Ocella McGehee and they had four children—Ruth, Joseph B., Shirlee and Donald W. In 1995, the great-grandson of the founder, Donald W. McGaugh, obtained the land. Currently, Donald and his wife Caroline (Robinson) continue to work the land that produces wheat, soybeans and corn. The farmhouse that is one hundred years old this year remains the family home. Over the years, the house has been remodeled and the attic rooms were converted into bedrooms for their two daughters, Kellye and Amanda. Today, the McGaughs report that their granddaughters, Parker and Kyndall Albright, daughters of Kellye and James Paul Albright, are the sixth generation to enjoy the homeplace. The Tennessee Century Farm program recognizes the contributions of Tennessee residents who have continuously owned, and kept in production, family land for at least 100 years. Since 1984, the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU has been a leader in the important work of documenting Tennessee’s agricultural heritage and history through the Tennessee Century Farm Program and continues to administer this program.The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) began the Tennessee Century Farm program in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial. Today, the TDA provides a metal outdoor sign, noting either 100, 150 or 200 years of “continuous agricultural production” to Century Farm families.To be considered for eligibility, a farm must be owned by the same family for at least 100 years; must produce $1,000 revenue annually; must have at least 10 acres of the original farm; and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee. There are more than 1,000 Century Farms across the state and all 95 counties are represented. “The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural, and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”For more information about the Century Farms Program, or to read about the histories of Gibson County farms as well as others across Tennessee, please visit its Web site at at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres.The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.

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ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview Hankins or the farm’s owners, or obtain jpeg images of this farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.

(MURFREESBORO)—The Hartsaw Cove Farm in Overton County has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reports Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation (CHP), which is located on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). Farms that originated from land grants and have remained in the family until the present are rare in Tennessee. Gilbert Christian founded the Hartsaw Cove Farm with a land grant of 1, 208 acres in 1792, four years before Tennessee became a state and 14 years before Overton County was established in 1806. The second owner of the property was Gilbert’s son, George Christian Sr. who he eventually deeded the land to his son, George Christian Jr. Generations, all named Christian, retained ownership of the farm until 1973 when Millard V. Oakley and his brother purchased the property. Oakley’s uncle, Marvin Brown, was the great-grandson of George Christian Jr.Today, Millard Oakley raises cattle on the 1,200 acres. A white frame house that was constructed by the Christian family in 1902 still stands on the property. In addition, the Christian family cemetery is located on the property. The family reports that the graves of slaves are also located on the farm. “Hartsaw Cove Farm is the oldest Century Farm in Overton County and one of the few farms that predates statehood,” Hankins noted.The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) began the Tennessee Century Farm program in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial. Today, the TDA provides a metal outdoor sign, noting either 100, 150 or 200 years of “continuous agricultural production” to Century Farm families.To be considered for eligibility, a farm must be owned by the same family for at least 100 years; must produce $1,000 revenue annually; must have at least 10 acres of the original farm; and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee. There are more than 1,000 Century Farms across the state and all 95 counties are represented. “The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural, and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”

For more information about the Century Farms Program, or to read about the histories of Gibson County farms as well as others across Tennessee, please visit its Web site at at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres.The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.

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ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview Hankins or the farm’s owners, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.

Congressman Bart Gordon & U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret SpellingsWill Serve as Featured Speakers for Dual-Ceremony Graduation Event at MTSU

(MURFREESBORO)—Approximately 1,570 degree candidates are expected to graduate during MTSU’s 95th fall commencement—a record number of candidates for a December graduation event—during the university’s upcoming commencement ceremonies, reports Dr. Sherian Huddleston, associate vice provost, Enrollment Services.On Saturday, Dec. 16, MTSU will again feature dual ceremonies and dual speakers starting at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. in Murphy Center. Of the 1,570 set to graduate, 1,409 are undergraduates and 161 graduate students, including 140 master’s candidates, nine education specialist (Ed.S.) degree candidates and three Ph.D. candidates. Candidates from the College of Graduate Studies, Jennings A. Jones College of Business, and College of Education and Behavioral Science will receive their degrees in the morning ceremony. That afternoon degrees will be conferred on candidates in the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, College of Liberal Arts, College of Mass Communication, and the College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning, said Dr. Jack Thomas, senior vice provost for academic affairs and chairman of the commencement committee. Congressman Bart Gordon, who has served as the representative in the 6th District of middle Tennessee since first winning election in 1984, will be the guest speaker for the 9 a.m. ceremony. A 1971 graduate with honors from MTSU, Gordon also received his J.D. from the law school at the University of Tennessee in 1973 and served in the United States Army Reserves in 1971-72 before being honorably discharged. Prior to being elected to the state’s House of Representatives, Gordon was an attorney in private practice. A lifelong native of Murfreesboro, Gordon is the dean of the Tennessee delegation and has served as the ranking member on both the Technology Subcommittee (1995-96) and the Space Subcommittee (1997-2002). In 2003, Gordon assumed the senior Democratic post on the Full Committee. Additionally, he also serves on the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, as well as serving on two subcommittees in Energy and Commerce-Health and Telecommunications and the Internet. A firm believer in a bipartisan form of government to create needed solutions, Gordon, among his many accomplishments, is perhaps best known for his work on issues related to NASA, including leading the call for an independent investigation of the Columbia disaster, pushing the agency on its financial management and cost estimating practices, and working to ensure that NASA addresses its workforce and infrastructure needs in a credible fashion.A former director of the state Democratic Party in 1979 and state party chairman from 1981 to 1983, Gordon makes his home in Murfreesboro with wife Leslie and their daughter, Peyton Margaret Gordon.U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings will be the featured speaker for the 2 p.m. ceremony. A native of Michigan and longtime resident of Houston, Texas, where she graduated from the University of Houston with a political science degree, Spellings is the country’s eighth education secretary, receiving confirmation of office from the U.S. Senate on Jan. 20, 2005.The first mother of school-aged children to serve in the role as education secretary, Spellings has a special appreciation for the hopes and concerns of American families and actively works to ensure that every young American has the knowledge and skills to succeed in the 21st century.Prior to her current appointment, Spellings served as assistant to President George W. Bush in the area of domestic policy, where she helped craft education policies, including the No Child Left Behind Act, in addition to aiding in the development and implementation of White House policy on immigration, health, labor, transportation, justice and housing.Spellings, before her White House tenure, also served for six years as a senior adviser to then-Texas Governor Bush. In this role, her responsibilities centered upon developing and implementing the governor’s education policy, which included the Texas reading Initiative, the Student Success Initiative to help eliminate social promotion, and the nation’s strongest school assessment and accountability system.A former associate executive director of the Texas Association of School Boards, Spellings is the mother of two daughters, one of whom is a sophomore in college and the other is a freshman in high school. Regarding the upcoming commencement event, Thomas said he wanted to remind all degree candidates of the importance of appropriate dress, decorum and respect for the commencement ceremony.“We believe this is a very important day in the lives of many people,” Thomas said. “Commencement is a day that families always remember as special. It is difficult to give the ceremony the dignified atmosphere it deserves if people are using air horns or leaving before the completion of the ceremony.”Additionally, per Thomas, the graduation committee also emphasized that students who participate in commencement will be required to stay for the entire ceremony. The December ceremony should last about two hours. If candidates are planning celebration activities, please be aware of this commitment, he said. “To make this a special day, it requires cooperation from everyone in attendance,” Thomas said. “We believe it should be a dignified ceremony, which adds to its enjoyment of all in attendance.” On Dec. 16, the doors to Murphy Center will open at 8 a.m. for the morning ceremony and candidates are expected to be in their assigned areas, dressed in their caps and gowns, no later than 8:30 a.m. For the afternoon ceremony, the doors will open at 1 p.m., and candidates are expected to be in their assigned areas and ready at 1:30 p.m.Officials report that students who are not in their assigned gyms at the proper times will not be allowed to participate in the ceremony. Because commencement rehearsals are no longer conducted, timely attendance is mandatory for students to receive important instructions. • For more information about commencement or receiving a degree in absentia, please visit the Records Office Web site at www.mtsu.edu/~records/grad.htm. Questions about graduation may be directed to the Records Office at 615-898-2600.

(MURFREESBORO)—Stone Hollow Farm in Dickson County has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reports Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation (CHP), which is located on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). Near the Montgomery County line and about four miles from Cumberland Furnace, a farm of 93 acres was established not long after the beginning of the 20th century. Frank Hardiman Stone paid $850 for the property in 1905. Married to Addie Shayden Stone, the couple had 10 children. Their son, Robert F. Stone, was the next generation to own the land. He and his wife, Anna Belle Stone, had three children. In 1991, the grandson of the founder, Robert L. Stone, and his wife Mary acquired the property. Today, they continue the long tradition of raising tobacco just as his father and grandfather did. Robert, the current mayor of Dickson County, and Mary live on the farm in a house built in 1860. Hankins said Stone Hollow Farm joins 18 other certified Century Farms in Dickson County.The Tennessee Century Farm Program recognizes the contributions of Tennessee residents who have continuously owned, and kept in production, family land for at least 100 years. Since 1984, the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU has been a leader in the important work of documenting Tennessee’s agricultural heritage and history through the Tennessee Century Farm Program and continues to administer this program.The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) began the Tennessee Century Farm Program in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial. Today, the TDA provides a metal outdoor sign, noting either 100, 150 or 200 years of “continuous agricultural production” to Century Farm families.To be considered for eligibility, a farm must be owned by the same family for at least 100 years; must produce $1,000 revenue annually; must have at least 10 acres of the original farm; and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee. There are more than 1,000 Century Farms across the state and all 95 counties are represented.“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural, and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”For more information about the Century Farms Program, or to read about the histories of Gibson County farms as well as others across Tennessee, please visit its Web site at at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres.The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.

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ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview Hankins or the farm’s owners, or obtain jpeg images of this farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.

(MURFREESBORO)— Three MTSU students, among 90 students nationwide, have been accepted as bike riders on the 2007 Habitat Bike Challenge. They will ride their bikes coast to coast for Habitat for Humanity. Two of the participating MTSU students are Claire Covic and Morgan Goepel, both seniors, who will ride the southern route. The other is sophomore Chris Sterling. He will be riding the northern route. In total, there are four students from Tennessee taking part in the challenge, with the fourth being from Sewanee. Each route is 4K miles long. Most of the riders are from Northern colleges, some are college graduates and graduate students.Each student will be asked to raise $4K. They will ride from town to town, speak to community groups, build Habitat homes and raise awareness for Habitat. To find out more, go to www.habitatbike.org <http://www.habitatbike.org/> . —30—

ATTENTION, MEDIA: Call MTSU News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 for assistance in locating these students for interview purposes.

(MURFREESBORO)—Americans cite bias and deception as the top two unethical behaviors by mass media that most concern them, according to a poll released today by Middle Tennessee State University’s College of Mass Communication. Collectively, the study found, the most common concerns relate to media portrayals of the truth. "One significant finding is that Americans are most concerned about issues orbiting truth-telling,” said Dr. Tom Cooper, MTSU’s Ethicist-in-Residence and a catalyst for the study. “About two-fifths of those questioned voiced primary concern about deception, exaggeration, sensationalism, bias or inaccuracy,” Cooper said. “The second largest group seems concerned about issues of media excess, such as too much violence, foul language, gratuitous sex, redundancy and saturation, while the third largest group is concerned about privacy issues." The poll of 1,017 randomly selected U.S. adults found that nearly a fifth (19%) say media bias or one-sidedness concerns them most. Another 11 percent name media dishonesty, and nine percent describe media invasion of privacy. Other concerns expressed include inaccuracy (4%) and too much violent content, exaggeration, incomplete reporting, sexual content and repetition or saturation in coverage (3% each).Concerns about sensationalism, too much profanity or bad language, and a lack of in-depth reporting each showed up among 2 percent of the respondents. Garnering 1 percent each were concerns about:· too much media focus on celebrities;· too much media focus on crime;· rude, pushy or obnoxious behavior by media;· unspecified concerns about reporting on the war in Iraq;· too much negativity;· revealing secret information;· being interested solely in ratings; and· focusing on unimportant stories."These trends seem consistent with previous polls and studies, which have shown a steady increase in Americans’ concern with journalistic truth-telling issues, entertainment excess, advertising saturation and Internet issues such as fraud, security, children's access to pornography, confidentiality, online pedophiles and privacy,” Cooper said. The research is part of a larger study of the attitudes of the American public and media professionals toward media ethics issues. The study is part of background materials for the second U.S. Media Ethics Summit Conference, to be held Feb. 27-March 2 at MTSU.The summit will gather media ethics experts from professional associations, academic organizations, institutes and relevant publications to evaluate and recommend solutions to U.S. civic and media leaders. Administered by Opinion Research Corporation of Princeton, N.J., with guidance from Dr. Ken Blake, associate director of MTSU’s Office of Communication Research, and Cooper, the poll has an error margin of plus-or-minus three percentage points at the 95 percent level of confidence. Opinion Research Corporation developed the categories used to code the poll's open-ended responses.Of those polled, 19 percent said they did not know or declined to answer and 17 percent said they had no concerns. Nine percent of the respondents listed other concerns (less than 2% each), such as corporate control of news and political advertising.The sum of the percentages exceeds 100 percent, both because of sample weighting factors and because respondents were allowed to name as many concerns as they wished. Most (85%) named one concern, but another 12 percent named two concerns, 2 percent named three, and the remaining 1 percent named either four or six concerns.Completed interviews were weighted by age, gender, geographic region, and race to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the 18-and-older population.Sponsors of the poll include the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, MTSU’s Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies, MTSU’s Office of Communication Research and the College of Mass Communication. More details and data are available at www.mtsusurveygroup.org/mtpoll/ethicspoll06.htm.

Friday, December 08, 2006

(MURFREESBORO)—The MTSU Band of Blue will travel to Detroit, Mich., on Dec. 25 to perform in the half-time show and in the stands at the Motor City Bowl game, where the MTSU Blue Raider football team will face the Central Michigan Chippewas. “I am extremely proud and excited to be taking the Band of Blue on this history-making trip to the Motor City Bowl,” said Craig Cornish, associate director of bands. "I am equally proud to note that 260 members of the band are sacrificing part of their holiday to perform this service for the university and community," Cornish added. "It is a great testament to the kind of students we have in our band and university." The band’s players have worked to customize their half-time show performance, which will feature 260 members instead of 305 players, the number of musicians who marched during the fall semester. “We think that (these numbers) signals very high morale in the ensemble,” said Dr. George Riordan, director of the McLean School of Music. “(It) is a testament to the great support that they receive throughout the University and with the alumni.” Members of the band who will participate in the Dec. 25 game performance are excited about traveling and the opportunity to be a part of this special game. And at least one student said she plans to maintain the holiday spirit while on the road. “We’re planning on decorating the bus to keep us in happy holiday spirits,” said Katie Helms, a member of the Band of Blue. “This will be a great experience for our students, for our supporters, and for those attending the game,” Riordan said. For more information on this and other events in the McLean School of Music, please call 615-898-2493 or visit the calendar of events at www.mtsumusic.com.

(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—A research team led by geographer Tom Nolan, a member of the geosciences faculty at Middle Tennessee State University, and Michael Birdwell, an Alvin York scholar and member of Tennessee Tech University’s history faculty, recently uncovered more than 1,400 artifacts in Chatel-Chehery, France, at the site that is believed to be the precise location where Sgt. York earned the Congressional Medal of Honor.Birdwell and Nolan formally announced the historic find during a joint press conference at MTSU’s R.O. Fullerton Laboratory for Spatial Technology on Dec. 8 following their Nov. 12-26, 2006, expedition to France, where they were joined by an international team of historians, archaeologists, geographers and interested parties that included French archaeologists Yves Desfosse and Olivier Brun; Belgian archaeologist Birger Stichelbaut; WWI historian Michael Kelly, a guide with Bartlett Battlefield Journeys in the United Kingdom; military artifact experts Eddie Browne and Ian Cobb of Great Britain; Frederic Castier, historian and official representative of the First Division Museum; the mayor of Chatel-Chehery, Roland Destenay; the mayor of Fleville, Damien Georges, who also serves as the regional forester for the Argonne; and Jim Deppen of Nashville, Tenn.The November research expedition was the local researchers’ second sojourn to France this year in search of the precise locale of York’s historic victory. During the prior trip, the researchers returned with the news that they were “80 percent” certain they had located the site, but additional research and work were needed. However, their latest trip marks the confirmation that Nolan and Birdwell were correct in their research to locate the site.“Discovery of a U.S. Army collar disk stamped ‘328 Infantry G,’ Sgt. York’s own company, added to a preponderance of evidence gathered by the team (that we had found) the location of the battle that occurred near Chatel-Chehery on Oct. 8, 1918,” Birdwell said.In addition to the collar disk, the team recovered artifacts consistent with historic documents that described items discarded by German soldiers as they surrendered to Sgt. York and the seven survivors of Company G. Among the items recovered at the expedition site were German gas masks, German gas mask filters, German bayonets, Mauser rifle bolts, fired German and U.S. rifle rounds, and spent Colt .45 rounds.In their efforts to locate the York battle site, the researchers called upon advanced mapping technology. Specifically, Nolan used GIS to synthesize spatial information obtained from historic French and German battle maps and maps annotated by York’s commanding officers, Col. G. Edward Buxton and Maj. E. C. B. Danforth, with written accounts by both German and American participants. This information was then superimposed upon the modern landscape to help the researchers focus their metal-detection fieldwork.“While historic interpretation and surface archaeology were both important, it was geography and GIS that provided the means to interpret that information and relate it to the modern landscape,” observed Nolan. “Without geography and GIS, we would not have been able to do what we did, meaning find the York battlefield site.”The researchers’ first foray to the Argonne in March 2006 recovered enough material to indicate that the team was looking in the right place, but time constraints made it impossible to search any further. Upon returning to Tennessee, Nolan and Birdwell continued to conduct historic and geographic research and seek expert advice from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Tennessee State Museum. Aside from re-examining affidavits taken in 1919, as well as reviewing correspondence and significant documents from the National Archives in Washington, the researchers also discovered the burial records of the six Americans killed on Oct. 8, 1918—documents that played a role in refining the search area.Additionally, Nolan said that reviewing the 1929 correspondence between Col. Buxton and Capt. Henry O. Swindler, wherein they discussed the re-enactment of the Oct. 8, 1918, battle, proved crucial to ultimately locating the battle site.“Although the discarded equipment, ammunition and expended cartridge cases we found have little individual historic value, their spatial relationships and patterns provide confirmation of the historic accounts of the engagement,” noted Nolan, who used GPS to map the locations of the artifacts and display their relationship with other historic data.Regarding the pay-off for their tireless work to locate the site where York is credited with single-handedly capturing more than 100 German soldiers in one of the U.S. military’s most storied exploits, Nolan said, “It’s truly gratifying that the artifacts we found are consistent with what we thought we would find. The shovels, gas masks and other items that we recovered corroborate historic information that a large number of German troops surrendered at that site.”At present, the research team is identifying and cataloging the artifacts found for museum placement. As a result of the team’s find, French authorities intend to erect an historic marker at the location of the machine-gun nest overlooking the once-lost spot where Pall Mall, Tenn., native York fired his weapons and where the nine soldiers were wounded or killed.“They are planning to dedicate the marker next October at a ceremony to be attended by the research team, and hopefully, by representatives from the State of Tennessee and the presidents of Middle Tennessee State University and Tennessee Technological University in October 2007,” Birdwell said.For more information regarding the York Project, including research updates, please access http://www.sergeantyorkproject.com/ .

—30—• ATTENTION, MEDIA—For more information, including availability of audio of the Dec. 8 press conference via podcast, or to secure a battlefield site map created by Nolan for editorial

(MURFREESBORO) — MTSU and state officials and 21 grant partners met Dec. 5 to announce the awarding of a $2 million federal Housing and Urban Development grant to extend the Tennessee Lead Elimination Action Program for three more years. TN LEAP is funded to control lead-based paint hazards affecting children less than 6 years old in Tennessee residential housing, program officials said. “Everyone is affected,” Faye Ralston, TN LEAP program director, said during the lunch announcement at the Tom H. Jackson Building. “Childhood lead poisoning is the No. 1 environmental hazard affecting children today. It spans all populations regardless of socio-economic status, causing irreversible lifelong damage to those affected. “During the next three years of grant funding, we plan to build on our accomplishments, learn from our mistakes and increase our activities and impact in the state to reduce or prevent the exposure to lead for many more Tennessee children and families.” TN LEAP representatives will work with 13 regional and 95 county health departments in Tennessee, Ralston said. Four years ago, the state approached MTSU and its engineering technology and industrial studies department with the first HUD proposal to address 100 housing units, said Andrianne White, manager of the toxic substances program in the solid waste division for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. “It was worth the sweat and hard work to go outside the box and do something they were hired to do,” White said. “They cleared many hurdles. … They met their objective, but the battles are not over with the grant. Today they have a second consecutive HUD grant. My staff and I are honored to be a partner.” Amy H. McLean of Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center in Memphis said, — MORE —

HUD awards TN LEAP $2 million/Page 2

“We have a lot of work to do in West Tennessee with landlords and schools. This is our first year to partner in the HUD grant. We just got back from our first HUD meeting. It’s exciting and scary.” Ralston said “the Memphis/Shelby County HUD-funded programs have been proactive in supporting TN LEAP through mentoring and assisting with partnership developments through their contacts.” Knoxville’s Bill Curran, a civil engineer by trade and the East Tennessee TN LEAP project coordinator, said, “We committed to do 50 percent better than we did the last time (the first grant) so we’ve got to beat that.” “This partnerships is a real-life example of having great success in realizing the goal for strategic partnership,” MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee said. “… This project is having an impact on the lives of young children. MTSU has a tradition of caring all across the state. … Hopefully, we’ll come back in three to five years with a $3 million to $5 million grant.” MTSU Vice President and Provost Kaylene Gebert said the university is “trying to build a responsive institution” and cannot be doing this without all the partners. “In this season of music,” she said, “everybody needs to play their part for it to be successful.” In addition to campus officials, among those attending were State Rep. Jim Tracy of Shelbyville; Rutherford County Trustee Teb Batey of Murfreesboro; Michael Schulz, field representative for U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander; TDEC staff; and representatives of Andersen Windows and Doors from Winchester and Murfreesboro, respectively. 2006-09 grant partners include TDEC; Tennessee Department of Public Health; Tennessee Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program; University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension; Catholic Charities of East Tennessee; Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center; Project HELP at MTSU; Tennessee Center for Child Welfare; The Housing Fund of Nashville; Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise Inc; cities of Memphis, Knoxville and Clarksville Community development; Chattanooga State Community College; Tennessee Association for Community Action Weatherization Assistance Program; the East Tennessee, South Central, South East Tennessee and Upper Cumberland human resource agencies; Mid-Cumberland Community Action Agency; and Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee.

(MURFREESBORO)—The Dowland-Hall Farm in Gibson County has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reports Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation (CHP), which is located on the MTSU campus. J. W. Dowland founded the Dowland-Hall Farm in 1890. Located in the Brazil community, J. W. raised cotton, corn, wheat, strawberries, cabbage, vegetables, orchards, cattle, hogs and poultry on the 20 acres. Married to Idella Dowland, they had five children. In addition to managing the farm, J. W. served as the postmaster for the Brazil community. According to the family’s records, the community also had three general stores, a blacksmith shop, a Baptist church, a Methodist church and a bank. The next generation to own the land was the founder’s daughter, Ida Dowland, who purchased the other interests from her siblings. During her ownership, Ida’s brothers-in-law, Emerson Shivers and Martin Benge primarily farmed the land. Some of the crops and livestock that were raised on the farm included cotton, corn, cabbage, strawberries, peas, horses and mules. Per the family, the two-story residence was destroyed by fire. The family story of the fire is that son-in-law Emerson Shivers, in an attempt to retrieve honey from a hive inside the walls of the house, constructed a torch to drive away the honeybees. Unfortunately, the house caught on fire and burned completely. Not long after, a new smaller farmhouse was built on the property. The third owner of the farm was James Wilson Hall, grandson of the founder. Married to Jo Young Hall, they had four children—Sandra Hall Arnold, James Wilson Hall Jr., Richard Gene Hall and Robert Barker Hall. The family produced cotton, soybeans, corn and cattle. Sandra Hall Arnold became the next owner. She and husband John Richard Arnold had two children, Melissa JoNell Arnold and John Richard Arnold Jr. Over the years, the small farmhouse began to deteriorate. In 2004, Sandra and her brother Robert remodeled the house and tried to retain as much of the original construction as possible. Today, Sandra lives in the house and the farm currently produces cotton, soybeans and corn and is worked by Bob Holder, a longtime neighbor and family friend. This late-19th century farmstead is the 19th farm in Gibson County to be certified as a Century Farm, Hankins said.—more—GIBSONAdd 1

The Tennessee Century Farm Program recognizes the contributions of Tennessee residents who have continuously owned, and kept in production, family land for at least 100 years. Since 1984, the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU has been a leader in the important work of documenting Tennessee’s agricultural heritage and history through the Tennessee Century Farm Program and continues to administer this program.The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) began the Tennessee Century Farm Program in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial. Today, the TDA provides a metal outdoor sign, noting either 100, 150 or 200 years of “continuous agricultural production” to Century Farm families.To be considered for eligibility, a farm must be owned by the same family for at least 100 years; must produce $1,000 revenue annually; must have at least 10 acres of the original farm; and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee. There are more than 1,000 Century Farms across the state and all 95 counties are represented.“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural, and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”For more information about the Century Farms Program, or to read about the histories of Gibson County farms as well as others across Tennessee, please visit its Web site at at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres.The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.

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ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview Hankins or the farm’s owners, or obtain jpeg images of this farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.